Willing to work for $15-$20 an hour?

[dmc]

I find it interesting that my son who ownes a business in Chicago can’t find anyone who will work. Starting pay would be $15 for someone who has never worked, $20 for someone who has some experience.

All he is is looking for is someone that speaks English and has a drivers license. Education requirements, none. Prior felony’s, don’t care. Drug test, no.

Job is for landscaping, mowing, and snow removal. He would even throw in a vehicle to the right candidate.

he has run adds for a week and no response.

I would think that at $15-$20 a hour there would be some interested. High school drop outs with felony convictions can still get a drivers license can’t they?

He does expect them to show up on time and work, and be able to drive a truck if needed. Evedently thats hard to find in Chicago.

[bae]

Hmmm - minimum wage in Chicago is $12/hour I believe.

US Bureau of Labor Stats says the mean hourly wage (in 2017) in Chicago is $26.57/hour. Salaries for part-time workers seem noticeably lower there though.

https://www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/news-release/occupationalemploymentandwages_chicago.htm

Is this a full-time position? Does it have any benefits?

What's the cost-of-living like in Chicago?

Hereabouts, you can't find anyone at $20/hour really. But our cost of living is through the roof, and we have a major housing issue. Simple landscaping starts at $25/hour.

[ApatheticNoMore]

So I applied to a $15 an hour job and thought "wow scraping the bottom of the barrel" but ... but then VERY hard technical test (not in my area of expertise either really) and I just said "screw it, I'm going to flunk out of a $15 an hour job test!!!". Bleh whatever. Minimum wage here is $11. And I know they are radically underpaying the market for that job title too, because I know what the market is, and it's not that.

However, people are desperate enough that someone will work it, maybe just for the job title, that someone might be me, IF I was likely to do better on that test (uh no we can't do wonderful on every possible test, some things are actually what we have mostly focused on in our work, and some are just things we know a little about but aren't experts on, however if one is applying for $15 an hour jobs one is getting pretty desperate to TRY ANYTHING you know).

Could I even live on $15 an hour here in California, well the reality is it is likely I would have to dip into savings from time to time working full time then no matter how minimal the budget. Uh we're not really known for super low cost of living here ...

so sick of this job market here, I can't even say. You have to know someone to get in, many people say, I think they are on to something. And I lose faith that anything one does matters, more classes to learn new skills, yea I'm doing it but does that even matter, go back to school and study whole new area and get a degree in a whole new area, yea but can you really get a job in any of them if you are starting out entry level in them when there are no entry level jobs? Etc. My boyfriend has suggested that the only way to have an income might be to try to start a business, grumble. So this is the post-work future I have been hearing about I guess.

[JaneV2.0]

I was making $22 an hour at my last "real" job. It was sufficient, but that was twenty years ago, before housing costs became insane.

[Miss Cellaneous]

Where is he running the ads? Is he targeting the right audience? Has he considered contacting the state employment division--they are usually pretty good about getting word out about jobs.

What are other similar jobs in the area paying? If everyone else is paying more, that's where the workers will go.

Do the ads make it both clear how to contact him and easy to contact him? Given his potential labor pool, access to the internet might be limited.

Or maybe he's late looking for help, and most of the people willing to do this kind of work were hired earlier in the year.

It's hard to say why no one has contacted him, but if there has been no response, he may need to change up the ad or where he is posting it.

[dmc]

This is a job mowing grass and maybe shoveling some snow. The only requirement is being able to drive and show up for work.

This is a basic starter job. It’s more than minimum wage and more than the burger flippers get.

[dmc]

Where is he running the ads? Is he targeting the right audience? Has he considered contacting the state employment division--they are usually pretty good about getting word out about jobs.

What are other similar jobs in the area paying? If everyone else is paying more, that's where the workers will go.

Do the ads make it both clear how to contact him and easy to contact him? Given his potential labor pool, access to the internet might be limited.

Or maybe he's late looking for help, and most of the people willing to do this kind of work were hired earlier in the year.

It's hard to say why no one has contacted him, but if there has been no response, he may need to change up the ad or where he is posting it.

This could be the problem. I guess also that everyone that wants a job has one. He may have to pay more, or sub it out.

[SteveinMN]

Does the "drive a truck" part require a CDL? Are there any benefits at all? Any idea of how many hours a week a prospective employee typically would tote up?

Around here (which I believe is less expensive than Chicago) you can make that kind of money working at ALDI or Home Depot or in air conditioning (in the summer) during retail hours without that much physical labor and maybe get a few benefits after a while. You can make that kind of $$ delivering newspapers each morning (that starts at o'dark-thirty but at least you've got the rest of your day) or delivering pizza or lab samples around town. Might even do better at that at a restaurant if you add in tips.

Either the jobs need to be advertised better or your son needs to offer more money (free market at work).

[dmc]

No CDL, just to drive around town, and possibly to and from home.

Im pretty sure those retail stores would run a background check and drug test. He doesn’t care about prior convictions as long as the hire is willing to work.

Back when I was hireing, 11 years ago, I could get new hires for $12 a hour. And they had to pass a background check, drug test, and have some schooling or experience. That was in St. Louis.

He May have to pay more, I’m just surprised.

[Tammy]

Health insurance would sweeten the pot. But this isn’t the type of job that can give that. We regularly hire people for 12-15 an hour if they don’t have experience, but there’s full benefits that cost them almost nothing and a pension if they make it their career. Over time they can get raises that get them into the mid 20s per hour,

It’s not much money really, but here in Phoenix housing is less expensive than many cities.

[Miss Cellaneous]

Here in New Hampshire, there's a McDonald's that's offering $20-$22 per hour for overnight shifts, full-time. Walmart is at $10/hr, full-time, with benefits--which for some people would be more attractive than your son's $15-$20 because a) Walmart would be permanent, not temporary, and b) a perception of better working conditions--outdoors vs. indoors; heat vs. AC, bugs vs. no bugs.

I ran a quick check for landscaping jobs on our local Craigslist, and some construction and general labor jobs as well, as those would probably attract the same applicant pool. There are one or two jobs with wages in the $12-$15 range, but most are in the $15-$20 range, with a few going up to $22. I have no idea how the cost of living varies from seacoast New England to Chicago, however. But it does seem as if the wage range your son has isn't too out of line with reality.

[Williamsmith]

I worked a job delivering controlled substances and prescription drugs in high crime neighborhoods for a measly $8.10/hr. And then cut grass and general labor on a golf course for $10/hr. Both part time no benefits. Maybe look for retired police officers or teachers?

[ApatheticNoMore]

And I remember when rents were 600ish on a one bedroom. So sure you didn't need much back then, but that was long ago. There is a reason even minimum wage is more than $8 or $10 now here. You still can't live on it but ...

I think most retired public service people have better things to do with their time as most of them seem to volunteer with most of it. They do get the good bennies.

Sometimes I consider part-time for $15-$19. could I live on it? No of course I could never ever live on it. It would supplement savings to go to school and find some career that sucks less than apparently anything I've done previously (given how little value it seems to have in the market) is all. Being that well ... But the truth is I can of course try but in all likelihood I could not get it, because overly qualified and differently qualified anyway. Because jobs are not just there for the taking, there's very little that doesn't require previous experience in just that thing.

[Yppej]

A lot of landscapers in my area are undocumented. If he wants to pay $15 an hour (which is already minimum wage in some places) and no benefits he may need to hire people off the books.

[ApatheticNoMore]

yea in all likelihood it would be a job done by an undocumented person around here (the requirement to speak english might be a problem), but some places maybe not so much.

[dmc]

Undocumented will not work, and it’s against the law. He may just have to pay more. I was just surprised he has trouble finding someone for a starting job. But I guess the economy must be doing great. All those inner city youth must have jobs now. I know unemployment is very low.

[Miss Cellaneous]

Undocumented will not work, and it’s against the law. He may just have to pay more. I was just surprised he has trouble finding someone for a starting job. But I guess the economy must be doing great. All those inner city youth must have jobs now. I know unemployment is very low.


A lot of kids, both high school and college, are taking classes or doing internships or volunteering (many high schools have a volunteer requirement for graduation) during the summer. This makes holding down a job difficult.

And those youths that aren't in school are either working already, or perhaps not wanting to work at all, at least at a manual labor job.